Tracy Lawrence concert canceled

TRACI ANDERSON

Published 8:00 pm, Tuesday, August 24, 2004

According to a press release from promoter Meridian Entertainment Group of Lansing, the concert has been canceled due to a scheduling conflict. The concert was to be performed at the Caseville school soccer field.

Tracy Lawrence's official website, www.tracylawrence.com, still listed the Caseville concert date on the tour schedule as of this morning. The website of Lawrence's record label, Dreamworks Nashville, didn't list the Caseville concert but didn't list anything in its place for that day.

Tickets purchased locally can be refunded only by mail. People can mail their tickets along with their return address to Meridian Entertainment Group, 333 N. Cedar St., Lansing, MI 48912. Tickets purchased through Star Tickets Plus (by phone, online, or at a Meijer location) can only be refunded by Star Tickets Plus by mailing them to Star Tickets Plus, 620 Century Avenue S.W., Suite 300, Grand Rapids, MI 49503.

Meridian reports refunds will take two to four weeks.

Kevin Meyer of Meridian said Lawrence's management canceled the show. He went on to say that a cancellation is something no one wants to do, but they do happen.

Meyer would not say how many tickets had been sold, but he did say sales were doing "OK" and the concert was not canceled due to lack of sales.

He said a scheduling conflict being the reason for a cancellation is not unusual. He said if the concert venue is a theater or another indoor venue, it can be more easily rescheduled. Because the Caseville venue was outdoors, it made it less viable to reschedule.

"We would've had to reschedule it during (winter) weather," he said.

He said as for refunds, checks will be sent as soon as possible after tickets are received. He said tickets can not be returned to Na-Na's Gift Shop in Caseville because Meridian contracted through Star Tickets Plus for ticketing services and Meridian has a responsibility to make sure Star Tickets Plus gets all of the tickets, both sold and unsold.

Meyer said a concert of this type in Caseville could work in the future "if the community rallies around it."

While ticket holders certainly are disappointed about the cancellation, perhaps no one is more disappointed than Craig and Annette Phillips, who came up with the idea to have the concert as a fund raiser for the Caseville school. They've spent the last five months planning the event, investing much of their own time and money. Craig Phillips said they found out about the cancellation from Meridian on Monday, but he and Meyer were trying to work something out. By early Tuesday afternoon, however, all hopes of reviving the concert were dashed, and the official announcement was made by Meridian.

The Phillips own Na-Na's Gift Shop, one of the locations where tickets had been available for purchase.

"We're out a lot of money because of this," Craig Phillips said. "We may have to sell the store to pay off the debt."

The Phillips said they're very thankful for those who supported the concert and purchased tickets.

While Meridian listed a scheduling conflict as the reason for the cancellation, Craig Phillips said he is placing blame for the cancellation on something else - the Caseville Chamber of Commerce.

He said he received no support from members of the Chamber of Commerce and that no business helped to sell tickets.

"A chamber of commerce is supposed to support anything that brings business to the community," he said. "(The chamber members) don't realize what they've done … they've lost out on hundreds of thousands of dollars coming into Caseville. I'm sorry I ever did this here."

Caseville Chamber of Commerce President Steve Louwers said the chamber did support the concert in every way it could.

"It's very unfortunate that Annette and Craig are accusing the chamber of commerce for a concert that didn't take place," Louwers said. "It's completely wrong."

Louwers said he was the one who suggested the meeting about planning for the concert that took place earlier this month. He said he had gathered 10 volunteers to do security and he made sure every business in town had a poster. He said he suggested that the Phillips put posters in businesses all over Huron County.

"(The chamber members) were all game for it, and we were excited about it," he said. "The chamber members feel badly (about the cancellation), but we had nothing to do with the cancellation."

He said it was the chamber's intention to help pay for the insurance needed for the event. However, Louwers said that doesn't mean the chamber was sponsoring the event.

Craig said he requested that the Tracy Lawrence concert be announced during Cheeseburger in Caseville events, but he was told that wouldn't be possible.

Louwers said when the event originally was planned to be much bigger with 20,000 people, he talked to Craig and informed him that the chamber wouldn't be able to sponsor such an event because of the expense.

Louwers added that the chamber of commerce office did not receive tickets to sell at the office until three weeks ago.

Louwers said he feels very badly for the Phillips, especially after the work the couple put into the event. He said he also feels bad for the school.

"I appreciated what they did, and I acknowledge their effort," he said. "The chamber supported it … but they did this on their own."

At this point, Craig and Annette aren't sure of their next step.

"We're still planning on doing something for the school, but not in Caseville," Craig said.

Craig said Meyer wanted to schedule the concert during Cheeseburger in Caseville, but Craig said no.

"I did it out of respect for Cheeseburger," he said. "Now I'm sorry we didn't do it during Cheeseburger."

Annette said people were calling her frequently Tuesday about the cancellation.

"I tell them I'm sorry - I don't know what else to say," an emotional Annette said. "People wanted this so bad … I feel like my heart has been torn right out of me."

Craig and Annette said they gave tickets away to about a dozen people who are ill or handicapped. Annette said she gave tickets to a boy with cerebral palsy.

"He gave me a hug," she said. "He was so excited."'

Craig said the concert would've been special for another reason - it would've been Annette's first concert she ever attended.

"We did everything humanly possible to do this," he said of the concert. "If we owned a house, we would've mortgaged our home to pay for (the event) … (the concert cancellation) has been emotional for both of us. This shouldn't have been like this at all."

Dr. Dan Tighe, superintendent of Caseville Public School, said he was "deeply disappointed that the idea didn't get realized."

"They reached for the stars and almost touched them," Tighe said of the Phillips.

Tighe said he's thankful that people in the community have the school close to their hearts.

"It's wonderful that our community business people keep the school in mind," he said. "Mr. and Mrs. Phillips see the school as one of the centers of the community. It's wonderful we have people who weave the school into their plans."

Tighe said he had been looking forward to the concert. He added that the school board was "all for it."